Listening, understanding, acting

“It’s like having a deep open wound, and then swimming in a salty ocean.”

“There are no good answers for our wonderful girls who asked us why the police officer killed that man.”

“Ten minutes that changed America.”

These are some of the messages shared last week when we brought 3Mers together virtually to share our feelings and perspectives on the George Floyd tragedy. It was a moment to listen – as individuals and as a company – and understand what we must do to ensure his death was not in vain.

The words resonated with me personally. I was also struck by the 3Mer who described the lifetime of racism he’s grappled with – from the Emmett Till murder that made him fearful of visiting his family in the south, to the beating of Rodney King, to the murder of Michael Brown in Ferguson, and now, George Floyd.

Hard words. Uncomfortable words. But words we need to hear.

Our hearts remain heavy, and it’s jarring for all 3Mers – especially our African American employees – knowing it happened in the community that’s been our home for decades. We mourn the injustice that took his life, and the lives of so many others before him. This is another sobering reminder of the bigotry that is the daily reality for African Americans, and that we have so much more to do to build a truly just and safe country for all.

We are listening to our diverse employees to deepen our understanding of the challenges and barriers they experience. And, I’m committed to action informed by their perspectives. We will be planful and create a long-term, sustainable plan that will focus on relief, helping restore communities, and advocating for reform.

Today, we are taking steps forward and recommitting ourselves to the journey ahead for justice and equality, starting in our hometown. Decades and centuries of systemic racism have led us to where we are today as a society. We will not wait for change, so we will act now, act decisively, and act in the best interest of our communities and colleagues.

• Based on feedback from our employees, we will establish a 3M Foundation Social Justice Fund in honor of George Floyd with an initial commitment of $1 million of local grants for our African American Network community champions to work with leading social justice partners in the Twin Cities.
• In addition, we are committed to rebuild the Twin Cities with all 3M has to offer for minority-led businesses and nonprofits, including financial support, in-kind support and volunteers. Our initial commitment is $1 million in support of re-development initiatives in the Twin Cities and other sites across the country, in addition to offering in-kind resources.

Inside our company and in our communities, we will be part of the solution. For 3M, I am leading this effort along with my leadership team and our CEO Inclusion Council. I am working with CEOs of other companies in the Twin Cities to come together around the idea that this time must be different.

We will accelerate our creation of an even more inclusive, diverse and empathetic culture. We have made progress in recent years; 60 percent of our top 100 leaders are now diverse, one-third of our corporate officers and board members are women, and we are integrating inclusion into our daily life. That’s not nearly enough, especially with respect to African Americans and their representation across our company. We are redoubling our efforts.

We will also build on our long history of creating more vibrant communities, which includes new efforts to promote police and justice reform, job creation, small business support, quality education, health care and other areas where inequities exist. Wednesday, I joined other Minnesota business leaders to urge state lawmakers to adopt policing reforms that address misconduct and increase accountability and transparency.

I am heartened at the resolve of our employees – along with so many others here in the Twin Cities and around the country – who will lead real change. For 3M and for me, it has started with listening and understanding to learn where we can make the biggest impact. And it continues as we put their words, their feelings, and their recommendations into concrete actions to improve life for African Americans.